The Eagles walked into Week 5 with a roster already bent out of shape, and the opening minutes in London only added to the mess.
Philadelphia entered Tottenham Stadium without Lane Johnson, who retired, and Cam Jurgens, who was traded. Add in the injuries that knocked Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and several others out of the lineup, and the challenge against a Jaguars team considered one of the NFL’s best was already steep. The Eagles were listed as significant underdogs at +8 on FanDuel.
That backdrop made the first quarter feel even more volatile. The Eagles’ offensive line in warmups featured Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Willie Lampkin at left guard, Jake Majors at center, Tyler Steen at right guard and Markel Bell at right tackle. Will Shipley was leading the backfield.
Then the game started getting weird.
Jacksonville appeared to strike first when Josh Cameron took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, but penalties on both teams wiped out the run. Not long after, the Eagles lost Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to an ejection after an after-the-whistle scuffle with a Jaguars special teams player. Trotter had started last week and was expected to have a role again with Jihaad Campbell dealing with a knee injury.
Philadelphia’s defense did give itself a jolt on the next stretch. Jalen Carter took over the first drive, drawing a holding penalty and then strip-sacking Trevor Lawrence. Carter, who has been playing through a hairline fracture in his wrist, looked like the version the Eagles rewarded with a $152 million deal this offseason.
But the early momentum didn’t last.
At 5:26 of the first quarter, Jacksonville broke through on a 51-yard touchdown from Parker Washington, who caught a throw to the flat and turned it into a quick strike. The Eagles had just failed on fourth-and-1, with Shipley coming up inches short of the line to gain, and the defensive breakdown that followed left Drew Mukuba and Jihaad Campbell taking the heat.
With the Eagles trying to steady themselves after a chaotic week, the Jaguars were the ones who landed the first clean blow.
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